Is
more capacity required?
In a sense,
the answer is partly in the way in
which the question was asked. David
Cameron asked the Airports Commission
to explore how the UK could retain
its position as a global aviation
hub. Not why. Just how.
That said, the
answer is usually along the lines
of: a hub airport could deliver the
long-haul connections to emerging
growth markets that would underpin
high-value exports and inward investment.
Demand for air
travel is projected to grow, and the
whole process of the Airports Commission
assumes that the right thing to do
is to meet that (projected) growing
demand.
There are, however,
many environmental,
and other
arguments which suggest that this
is either not sensible or not necessary.
For example: aviation does not meet
the full external costs generated
by its own activities (noise and pollution)
and fails to pay for direct costs
generated by the activity itself (eg
the motorway links to Manchester and
Heathrow airports), and yet aviation
fuel is not taxed and a great deal
of public money at EU and UK levels
goes into air traffic control systems.
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